Painting, Battle of New Bern, by Herbert Eugene Valentine
Recent military reversals worry Southern Baptists as much as their fellow countrymen. A commentary in the Baptist press this week offers much-needed assurance and vows defiance.
In times of war, victory and defeat follow each other, and rejoicing and sorrow are mingled like light and shade in a picture.
A few days since, the Southern heart thrilled with gladness at the announcement that the Virginia had achieved a victory at Newport News, unparalleled in the annals of the world. For the fierceness with which it was contested and the odds against which our forces contended, history shows nothing equal to it; and the people of the South rejoice over it as a demonstration that the vaunted navy of our enemies is not invincible, and as an earnest of future triumphs on the same element.
But the first thrill of joy, caused by this event, had scarcely subsided, when the telegraph brought us sad tidings from the far West. A great battle had been fought, of which the issue is doubtful, but over which every Southern patriot will mourn, even if the victory is ours. McIntosh, who, in his recent conflict with the Indians, gave promise of a long and glorious career, was killed. McCulloch, the gallant and chivalrous Texas ranger, the hero of Oak Hill, and the idol of the great South West, is slain. Many others equally bold and patriotic, but less known, sacrificed their lives on that well contested field. The nation mourns these heroes, fallen in the defense of her rights and her liberties; and their names are henceforth a part of her history.
While these things are still fresh in our minds, the news of a fresh disaster reaches us. Our forces in Newbern, overpowered by numbers, are compelled to retire, and the towns is in the hands of the enemy, who have thus gained another foothold in our territory and prepared themselves for further advances.
Thus we have a few feeble rays of light fringing a cloud of deepest gloom. What then? Shall we indulge in unmanly grief, or become discouraged? God forbid. If we were right in drawing the sword at first, and that we were, no Southern patriot doubts, there is every reason why we should carry on the contest to the bitter end. Not one of the causes of war have been withdrawn. Nay more, they have been increased a thousand fold. The bitter hatred of the South and her institutions and the reckless disrespect of her rights manifested by her enemies were the first causes of separation, and they have been strengthened by the war and the recent victories. To yield would be place ourselves, completely, in the power of those whose infamous conduct made a union with them loathsome to us; to be bound still more firmly by the legislation which has already made our enemies rich and powerful at our expense; to see all those who have been prominent actors in the stirring scenes of this revolution, driven into exile, or put to a shameful death, and their property confiscated; to be burdened with the taxes necessary to pay off the enormous expenditures of the war; to be taunted and insulted forever; to be helpless in the hands of an unscrupulous majority; to live on with a sense of degradation and oppression. This, if we yield. To be conquered will be to have our country reduced to the untold miseries of territorial dependency. We can not yield. We must conquer our independence of die, to the last man. Then, let us rally at the call of our country. Let others rise up promptly, to take the places of those chivalrous spirits who have fallen in battle. Let us meet the enemy at every point, and if we must fall back before superior numbers, let us do it slowly, contesting every inch of ground. If we must be driven from our homes, and suffer the loss of our property, let us bear it uncomplainingly, nay cheerfully for the sacred cause in which we are engaged. Let all the men of the South do their duty in this time of peril. The found memories and heroic associations of the past, our hopes for the future and every principle of patriotism, philanthropy, and religion, call on us to do this. We believe that the people of North Carolina will not be unfaithful or retreat to their duty.
With this spirit, we shall as surely succeed as the sun now shines in the heavens. History records the downfall of no people who were united and determined to be free. Poland did not fall until was rent by factions, and Hungary was safe until the treachery of her own trusted sons gave her into the hands of her enemies. If we prove true to ourselves, we shall at last be free and independent in spite of the odds against us, and the disadvantages under which we fight. These reverses are a part of the stern discipline necessary to fit us for independence. They develope the real mettle of a people to show their attachment to a cause, and [unite] them in bonds of affection and sympathy. We shall probably have more of them; let us be prepared for them.
In the case of Newbern the result was not unexpected. Experience has taught us that our mud fortifications are worth little against iron clad guns boats and heavy ships of war; and troops, however brave, can not hope to be victorious against odds of five to one. In the future we shall not have the the fleet to contend with. We shall meet the enemy on open ground. Then let none be discouraged. With a tear to the memory of the brave men who have fallen, let us press onward until our independence shall have been gained, trusting to that God, who rules the earth in righteousness.
Loyalty to the defense of African slavery (the foundational “institution” of the South) will consume many white Southerners — Baptists and otherwise — throughout the war. “Contesting every inch of ground” will prove to be a long-term strategy of the Confederacy, prolonging the war to the destruction of the South.
Source: “Light and Shade,” Biblical Recorder, March 19, 1862 (link)
